6 Important Reasons to Bold Your Important Text

Filed under Article Readability.

Numerous Websites have shown that new visitors to your blog or website will scan your web pages for keywords that relate to what they are visiting your site for. For example, I can almost guarantee that you will look at the following site like this (Thanks, Smashing Magazine):

Why You Should Bold Your Important Text:

  1. Text that sticks out of the article will draw the reader’s eye.
  2. Easier time for the reader to scan your article for important keywords and/or phrases.
  3. Not everyone has time to read your article. They can grasp a basic sense of what your trying to say through bolded text.
  4. Bolded points and information will make the article more pleasing to the eye.
  5. Your brain can create a bridge between bolded phrases making the actual reading part take much less time.
  6. Finally, with the extra time that a visitor saves by scanning one of your articles, they could either:
  • Subscribe
  • Comment
  • Read/Scan Another One Of Your Articles
  • Buy an Advertisement :twisted:

Do you bold important phrases, keywords or notes?

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24 Comments »

Comment by Rarst has cool feed Subscribed to comments via email
2008-11-03 08:15:53

Yeah, it took me some time to figure out but now I use bloding a lot. A lot of readers are not interested enough to read deep, proper formatting helps to catch their attention.

Rarst has cool feed’s last blog post..Backup of FTP server with Cobian Backup

 
Comment by Franklin Bishop
2008-11-03 11:58:34

Maki over at Dosh Dosh is the best at this. I think so anyways.

Franklin Bishop’s last blog post..Bikini Concept for Bloggers

 
Comment by Nishadha
2008-11-03 18:09:34

making the text bold not only makes it easier for readers to scan through the article , but according to many it helps in SEO as well. More than the bold text having sub headings or information given in point form tend to keep your visitors, or at least me :)
Nishadha’s last blog post..Payment from Performancing Ads

 
Comment by Archie Pennies
2008-11-04 12:48:18

Some themes translate strong tags like bold tags. Some SEO think that strong tags may have a little more SEO benefits and since they make the text look like it is in bold in most themes, it could still have the visual impact Brad is talking about.

Archie Pennies’s last blog post..How to Find Profitable Niches Using Article Directories

 
Comment by Archie Pennies
2008-11-04 12:48:33

Hi Brad delete this comment this happened while trying to fix a typo in the one above an this happened . Have a nice week!

 
Comment by SEO Press Formula
2008-11-04 15:54:14

Bolding text also emphasizes the point that you are trying to make to your reader and gives themthe idea that they should pay more attention to that point.

 
Comment by TechPuree
2008-11-05 07:35:22

It is really an interesting and useful post. In my opinion bold text should be judiciously used as over-use may also result into bad looks and leave the reader confused.

TechPuree’s last blog post..Google Abandons Ad Deal With Yahoo

 
Comment by Jay
2008-11-06 06:27:55

I think you overlook the fact that people don’t just bold it just to bold it but to point out the emphasized point. If you’re bolding way too much then it also gets annoying.

But also, most people bold their keywords they’re trying to rank for in search engines, mainly.

Jay

Jay’s last blog post..Resignation Letter Template for When You’re Ready to Quit Your Day Job

 
Comment by Sohail
2008-11-06 16:00:46

Nice one. Bold text makes article look small and interesting and important. SEO advantages as well

Sohail’s last blog post..Windows 7 Pre-beta - Download the trial version and extend it for 120 days for FREE

 
2008-11-08 02:34:26

I only bold my headlines and sub-headlines. Perhaps I should try applying this to my blog as well. Looks pretty neat and I capture my attention by looking at the bold text first. Great share.

Wei Liang

Wei Liang | ABloggerBlog’s last blog post..Lesson 17: Social Media Marketing

 
2008-11-08 09:09:47

In answer to your question, I haven’t used much bold text in my articles. But now I’m thinking I should. I had always heard it was a good thing, but wasn’t sure why.

Watch TV Shows Online’s last blog post..Watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles Episode: Brothers of Nablus

 
Comment by Simon
2008-11-08 16:32:05

Haha, guess what I did before I read the article….. scanned it for the bold text :)
Simon’s last blog post..How To Run An Effective Case Study

 
Comment by Dennis Edell Subscribed to comments via email
2008-11-09 13:39:04

I’m with Jay. It’s great for some keywords and to emphasize a point here ans there, but too much is not so good either.

Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Are You Able To Focus & Take Action? A 5-Step Plan That WORKS.

 
Comment by KG
2008-11-09 22:17:10

Oh wow, I always check your updates on the RSS Reader, didn’t see how awesome this new theming is.
Great work Brad!

 
Comment by Sondre
2008-11-14 11:27:58

I never bold text.
But theres some great tips here.
Im gonna try to bold the importent text from now.

Thanks for the tips, you got yourself one new rss subscriber :)
Sondre’s last blog post..5 nydelige og gratis WordPress temaer

 
Comment by Will
2008-11-18 06:15:55

I have been doing this recently, but I often forget. Good tips on why I should remember to bold things.

 
Comment by Peter Answers
2008-11-18 13:13:02

I have heard Google likes the bolding too.

Peter Answers’s last blog post..More Pranks & Gags

 
Comment by Joan Subscribed to comments via email
2008-11-19 13:44:39

I’ve realized I haven’t done a great job bolding text in my posts. I will change my ways now. Thanks for the great tips.

Joan’s last blog post..How to Make Sure EzineArticles Accepts Your Articles

 
Comment by TonNet
2008-11-22 04:09:48

I’ve always admired the lenght of your posts, short concise and commment inviting. We don’t use much bolding but we agree with all your readers, cibernauts are scanning information very quickly nowadays. Bold will help them. Absolutely.

TonNet’s last blog post..Teaching Teachers Technology

 
2008-11-25 22:17:20

Bold keywords on your post have great SEO benefit

ZK@Internet Marketing Blog’s last blog post..Get the Google Search Engine Optimization Guide

 
Comment by Erwin Tan
2008-12-04 09:13:02

Very useful post..

It will sure help to bring up the conversion as well.

Erwin Tan’s last blog post..Unleashing The Niche Genius In You

 
Comment by Edouard
2008-12-11 04:39:21

Nice article.

i have been bolding important parts of my texts for quite a long time now. It is cool as it focuses the attention of the reader to what really is important.

Keep up the good work ! :)
Edouard’s last blog post..Help in finding new solar technologies

 


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